Device for the displacing and regulating of the ballast of railway tracks



June 28, 1966 F. BUHLER 3,257,744

DEVICE FOR THE DISPLACING AND REGULATING OF THE BALLAST OF RAILWAY TRACKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 10. 1963 June 28, 1966 F. BUHLER DEVICE FOR THE DISPLACING AND REGULATING OF THE BALLAST 0F RAILWAY TRACKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 10, 1963 June 28, 1966 BUHLER 3,257,744

DEVICE FOR THE DISPLACING AND REGULATING OF THE BALLAST OF RAILWAY TRACKS Filed April 10, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INV Fri'rz Biihler ENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent "ice 3,257,744 DEVICE FOR THE DISPLACING AND REGULAT- llNtG OF THE BALLAST 0F RAILWAY TRACKS Fritz Biililer, Lansanne, Switzerland, assignor to Matisa Materiel Industrial S.A., Lausanne, Switzerland, and Constructions Mecaniques S.A., Renens, Switzerland Filed Apr. 10, 1963, Ser. No. 271,969 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Apr. 13, 1962, 4,555/ 62 1 Claim. (Cl. 37--105) The present invention concerns a device for displacing and regulating the ballast of railway tracks at the outside of the rails. It concerns in particular a device fixed to the side of a vehicle running on the track, comprising sheet plates so assembled as to form the walls of a scoop open in the direction of movement of the vehicle.

When the vehicle is moved on the track, the lower edges of the sheet plates strike against the ballast which projects beyond the plane swept by these lower edges. The ballast is piled in front of the plates and one part thereof is thrown towards the rails while another part falls into hollow places in the profile of the ballast and fills them up. The profile is thus regulated.

In known devices, a scoop is fixed to the side of the vehicle in an adjustable manner with respect to the distance between the scoop and the axis of the track as well as to the slant of the plane formed by the lower edges of the scoop, but, when any obstacle appears on the sides of the track in the path of the scoop, then the latter has to be lifted from the ballast in front of the obstacle and lowered again behind it. This method presents the disadvantage that the ballast, which is accumulated in the scoop falls on the track, thus creating irregularities in the profile which must be made even by hand labor.

The present invention aims to provide a solution for this difficulty. A mechanism is also provided controlling the position of the exterior side wall of the scoop relative to the inner side wall.

The accompanying drawings represent, by way of examples, two embodiments of the device according to the invention.

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of a first embodiment, fixed to the side of a vehicle.

FIGURE 2 is a view in perspective of a second embodiment.

FIGURE 3 is a partial front view of the device represented in FIG. 2.

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing particularly the environment of the device.

The rails of the railway track are shown at 45 upon which the vehicle 1 runs either in one direction or the other. The exterior border line of the profile of the ballast which is parallel to the track, is indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 by the line 2. 3 designates a line of steepest gradient. Although the example considered concerns a railway track with inclined borders, the device is capable of being used for regulating the ballast on a flat border.

Two piston-cylinder jacks 4, 5 are fixed to the vehicle 1. At the ends of the piston rods 46 of these two jacks there is articulated at 6, 7 a scoop the walls of which are formed by sheet plates. The axis of the two jacks 4, 5 may be secured in planes perpendicular to the axis of the track to enable the adjustment of the position of the supports 16, 17 horizontally and vertically.

In the embodiment represented in FIG. 1, the scoop is a double one which is open in both directions of movement of the vehicle. It is constituted by a lateral plate 8 delimiting towards the exterior two partitions which the scoop has, such as a pair of cross-plates 9, and a lateral plate 11 delimiting the two partitions of the scoop towards the interior. The plates 9, 10 are so located that plate 27 3,257,744 Patented June 28, 1966 in moving the vehicle 1 in the direction of the arrow A the plate 9 takes up the ballast which projects from the profile, pushes it partly in front of it and directs it in the direction of the ends of the ties. 1 in the direction of the arrow B, it is the plate 10 which acts on the ballast.

The exterior lateral plate 8 and the two cross-plates 9, 10 are welded together and the assembly is connected to the interior lateral plate 11 by two guide bars 12, 13 which are welded to the exterior plate 8 and which can slide in stirrups 14, 15 fixed to the interior plate 11. This latter also bears the supports 16, 17 where the scoop is articulated.

The scoop which is pivoted about the articulations 6, 7 is maintained at the desired slant by a cable 18 fixed at 19 to the vehicle 1 and looped around a roller 20 fixed to the exterior plate 8 and around a roller 21 fixed to the vehicle 1. The slant of the scoop is adjustable by means of a winch 22 mounted on the vehicle 1.

The distance between the exterior plate 8 and the interior plate 11 is adjustable by means of a hydraulic piston-cylinder jack 23. Thus, if an obstacle appears in the passage of the plates, the exterior plate 8 can be retracted in order to avoid the obstacle. In FIG. 1 the dot and dash lines designate the retracted position of the exterior plate 8. The cross-plates 9, 10 can be of telescopic construction. The length of the cable 18 is adjustable to the position of the exterior plate 8 in order to maintain the same slant of the scoop for the two positions of the exterior plate 8.

In the embodiment represented in FIGS. 2 and 3, the scoop has a longitudinal exterior plate 24, a pair of crossplates 25, 26 and a longitudinal interior plate 27. The three plates 24, 25, 26 are welded together and articulated to the interior plate 27. The pivot axis 28 (FIG. 3) of the scoop is perpendicular to the plane constituted by the lower edges of the three plates 24, 25, 26. The inclination of this plane is adjustable by means of the winch 22 and the cable 18 as described above.

The exterior plate 24 is pivoted about the axis 28 by means of a hydraulic piston-cylinder jack 29 and by two cables 30, 31. The jack 29 is fixed to the interior plate 27 At the end of the piston rod 32 are fixed two rollers 33, 34 which can thus be moved longitudinally to the plate 27 by means of the jack 29. The first cable 30 is fixed at 35 to the exterior plate 24 and at 36 to the interior plate 27. The cable is looped around a roller 37 fixed on the interior plate 27 and around the roller 33 fixed on the piston rod 32. The second cable 31 is fixed at 38 to the exterior plate 24 and at 39 to the interior It is looped around a roller 40 fixed on the interior plate 27 and around the roller 34 fixed on the piston rod 32. In moving the piston rod 32 in one direction the cable 30 is released and a traction exerted on the cable 31, making the exterior part of the scoop pivot about the axis 28. In moving the piston rod 32 in the opposite direction, this part is pivoted in the opposite direction. For working in the direction of the arrow A the exterior part is brought by pivoting into the position indicated in FIG. 2 in full lines. The position of the exterior plate 24 for working in the opposite direction is indicated by broken lines. For avoiding an obstacle 41 the exterior part of the scoop is pivoted into an intermediate position indicated in FIG. 2 by dot-dash lines.

As is evident from the front view, FIG. 3, the lower edges .of the plates 24, 25, 26 remain in the same plane when the exterior part of the scoop is pivoted.

In the two embodiments described herebefore the adjustment of the relative position of the exterior lateral walls of the scoop with respect to the interior lateral walls operated by parallel movements or by pivoting'about an axis.

In moving the vehicle What I claim is:

A device for displacing and regulating the ballast of a railway track along the outside of the rails, comprising a vehicle adapted to run on the railway track, a first plate disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle near the side of said vehicle and pivotably fixed to said vehicle for pivoting about an axis parallel to said longitudinal axis, a second plate, a pair of substantially vertical cross plates, each rigidly fixed to said second plate at spaced locations and extending toward said first plate, said cross-plates converging in the direction of said first plate, said cross-plates and said second plate forming a scoop the bottom edges of said scoop defining an adjustable working plane parallel to said longitudinal axis, said first plate and said scoop forming together a ballast retaining frame open in direction of movement of said vehicle, means-on said first plate pivotally mounting said cross-plates on said first plate about a single axis, said axis being perpendicular to said working plane, means acting between said scoop and said first plate for pivoting said scoop relative to said first plate, and means acting between said vehicle and said retaining frame for adjusting the working plane of said scoop.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,019,536 2/1962 Kershaw 37l04 ANTONIO F. GUIDA, Acting Primary Exal'ni/zcr.

BENJAMIN HERSH, Examiner.

W. B. STONE, G. T. MOLLER, Assistant Examiners. 

